Monthly Budget Report #3 - October 2009

October was an expensive month. As expected, traveling 2000 miles to Churchill, Manitoba was not exactly budget friendly. Gas was a higher percentage than usual (3 more percentage points) because not only did we drive many miles this month, but gas was much more expensive in Canada ($4 per gallon, versus $2.50 in the U.S.). As of October 31st we are over budget by 5.9% (for the whole trip), but the previous two months we were under budget. My plan to keep my family on track is to cut our daily budget by 15% during the month of November. If my plan is successful we will be back on budget by November 30th. This plan is possible because we will be doing less driving, and staying at more houses of friends in November.

The top four categories for October were gas at 34.6%, lodging at 13.2%, restaurant meals at 10%, and groceries at 9.6%. Compared to September, lodging increased by 3 percentage points, thanks to our stay at the Polar Inn in Churchill, and staying in a few hotels in Montana due to snowstorms. Restaurant meals grew by 2 percentage points because it was hard to cook our own meals while staying at hotels. Household expenses fell by 11 percentage points because in September we were spending money on staples and other items we will not need to buy again. Because of our eating out so much, groceries fell by 6 percentage points.

The following graphs show the relative amount of our spending, by category, during the month of October and for the trip to date.